Kinnikinnick earns kosher certification

December 22, 2011, Edmonton – Gluten-free baked good and snack manufacturer Kinnikinnick Foods is now a certified kosher food manufacturer.

Kinnikinnick runs the largest dedicated gluten, dairy and nut free facilities in North America. By making all of its products in house, Kinnikinnick can ensure its baked goods and snacks are safe from cross contamination.

Both of Kinnikinnick's Edmonton plants are under the supervision of the Kashruth Division of the Orthodox Union (OU).

"Making our products certified kosher was a natural choice for us," said Kinnikinnick Foods' president and CEO Jerry Bigam. "Since our products were already free of dairy, we received many calls asking if our lineup was kosher as well. The demand was there, our products met the requirements; we just needed to go through the certification procedure to make it official."

The OU symbol will begin rolling out on Kinnikinnick's packaging this month, just in time for Hanukkah. All of Kinnikinnick's current products are now certified, including cinnamon sugar donuts, chocolate dipped donuts, all purpose flour blend, angel food cake mix, blueberry muffins, white sandwich bread, pizza crusts, s'moreables graham style crackers, and KinniKritters animal cookies.

Kosher foods have sustained a growth rate of 15 per cent annually and have been the fastest growing ethnic cuisine over the past five years, according to Canadian Agri-Food Trade Service.